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Topic: Do you have an electric kettle? (Read 56437 times)

Central US here: I have one that I bought 35 years ago to heat water for doing dishes in the camper. It went into storage after we bought a camper with a better water heater.

Then we had our flood last April and no hot water in the basement for a while, so that little guy really got a lot of use heating water for cleaning.

It still works well, but if I were going to need a kettle, I would get a stovetop one. When we had a gas stove, water got to boiling nearly instantly anyway, and now I have a ceramic top electric stove which does just as well. I don't want to waste the counter space, anyway. I also didn't like the lime buildup it got - it would put flakes of lime in the water no matter now much vinegar I cleaned it with so if I did use it for food, I would use a strainer.

I don't know anyone else who has one, but several of my friends do keep a teakettle on the stove.

I had a hot pot in college - the only cooking appliance we were allowed in our dorms, and that thing really got a workout heating water for hot chocolate, which we could pick up for free in the cafeteria.

2 large mugs and 3 cups on average for me. My DH does not function without at lest one mug of instant coffee in the morning and gets through another 4 or so during the day. plus the odd hot chocolate, herbal tea or instant soup. At work we don't have a kettle it's too slow we have an urn on the wall and a hot drink vending machine.

I go through phases - currently I'm only drinking the occasional cup of tea but once the cooler weather comes it will be 2-3 cups per day (usually before noon, though - after that I have to switch to herbal.)

How much tea do people drink per day? I'm on about 3 or 4 cups, on average.

Maybe that explains why I am rather puzzled that people are so enthusiastic about electric kettles. Viewed from my perspective, it would be an appliance taking up room on the counter, that I would use only once a day.

Same at my house. Counter space is a premium, as are outlets. DH drinks one cuppa per day, I stick with coffee when I get to work; if you ever see me drink tea you will know that I feel quite ill.

We had an electric kettle for years, then it malfunctioned; no love lost, it had become a pain to clean (mineral buildups that resisted everything, and I couldn't use a metal scrubbie on it because it was plastic), and we had nowhere to store it off counter once we'd extended our kitchen gadgets into the realm of "normal". A toaster took its place; we were pretty excited to get that toaster, too. We now have two stovetop whistling kettles, and we do use the kettle for instant cocoa as needed, or my instant cappuccino on days I don't go to work and get my fix there; randomly a cup o'noodle instant lunch is eaten but it's not anywhere near commonly consumed fare in our home. We only really "need" the whistler once a day on average, though.

I grew up in a kettle-free home. We didn't use the microwave for heating water either; just a pot on the stove and a ladle for herbal concoctions in a cup (tea-free zone too), or instant soups and ramen noodles--almost daily on those, big family and cheap food.

The whistling kettle is a huge step up from those days!

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“A real desire to believe all the good you can of others and to make others as comfortable as you can will solve most of the problems.” CS Lewis

If we haven't used the kettle in several days, I put it away and don't take it out again until we need it. But in the fall/winter we use it a lot, and it's worth it to have it on our (admittedly limited) counter space. It is FANTASTIC if anyone has a cold and wants to gargle with warm salt water. For real.

However, during a ~5 week tour of Australia/New Zealand last year, I discovered that every hotel/inn/B&B/etc. we stayed at had a "hospitality tray" and electric kettle, and for ~5 weeks I had the daily bliss of a cup of Earl Grey and some sort of biscuit in bed every morning before I hit the shower.

How much tea do people drink per day? I'm on about 3 or 4 cups, on average.

a LOT! It helps me stay warm and hydrated and healthy during the cold, cruel winter! I suffer from extreme dry mouth do not feel properly hydrated unless I drink about a gallon of fluids per day. Drinking tea helps break up the monotony.

Thanks - I did wonder if the different in voltage may be part of the reason.

I drink many cups a day but rarely 'proper' tea; green tea with breakfast, and cran-raspberry or apple crush throughout the day. Sometimes TeaPigs chai. Then herbal at night. Lemon&ginger for colds and sore throats. Though when I'm in a hotel the first thing I do is make a cup of PG Tips or whatever they have.

I used to have one electric kettle in my kitchen and a second in my bedroom (along with some boxes of herbal/fruit tea and a carafe of water). I actually also drink fruit juice diluted with hot water which I am aware is probably deeply weird - after I had my tonsils removed my throat couldn't tolerate anything cold, and I got used to having all my soft drinks warm.

However, during a ~5 week tour of Australia/New Zealand last year, I discovered that every hotel/inn/B&B/etc. we stayed at had a "hospitality tray" and electric kettle, and for ~5 weeks I had the daily bliss of a cup of Earl Grey and some sort of biscuit in bed every morning before I hit the shower.

The hospitality tray is basically my #1 favourite thing about staying in hotels (in countries that do them, of course).

US (California) here. It's been 10-15 years since I had a stovetop kettle (handle broke, never needed it enough to replace it) and I've never had an electric one. For the last two years I've had a Keurig coffee maker, if I need hot water for tea or hot chocolate I just run the machine without a kcup.